A tiger ripped my face apart and tore out my eye but I urged our people not to kill it.. meet the people trying to save Nepal's tigers

ROYAL Bengal tigers are critically endangered by ruthless hunters who will stop at nothing to cash in on wildlife trade.

Poaching for skins and body parts is an immediate threat to tigers (Photo: Niranj Vaidyanathan)

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PICKING my way through jungle in the foothills of the Himalayas, on patrol with a group of villagers armed with wooden sticks, there is suddenly a flurry of activity.

We huddle around a man peering suspiciously at a pile of leaves.

Bhadai Tharu takes his staff and prods the ground... and a sickening crack rings out as a deadly poaching trap springs up and snaps shut.

He disarms the evil contraption and hands it to me. A shiver runs down my spine because I know this trap has been used countless times to kill the world’s most magnificent animals, the critically endangered royal Bengal tigers.

A century ago more than 100,000 wild tigers roamed the globe – now there are just 3200. Three sub-species have died out and experts fear the five others could be gone within years.

Every week an average of two tigers are killed by poachers desperate to cash in on the £12billion illegal wildlife trade, where a kilo of tiger bone fetches around £1700 and an adult skin more than £5000.

The human population explosion across Asia has led to 93 per cent of the animals’ natural territory being destroyed, inhabited or farmed. It has forced hungry tigers to attack cattle or even humans – resulting in the cats being killed by angry villagers.

I am in Nepal, in a remote area on the Indian border called the Terai Arc. It is home to 120 adult Bengal tigers and the focus of a remarkable multi-million-pound campaign to save them from extinction.

Conservation group WWF believe they can double the number of wild tigers across the globe by 2022 and eradicate the sick trade in body parts within seven years.

WWF’s spokesman in Nepal, Akash Shrestha, said: “The wild tiger is on the brink of extinction. Without urgent support they could disappear from most areas within a generation.

“Poaching for skins and body parts used in traditional medicines is the largest immediate threat.

“Habitat destruction and lack of prey means tigers are increasingly coming into conflict with humans. Tigers stray into areas close to villages, resulting in tigers and people being killed. But we can secure a future for tigers in the wild.”

WWF in Nepal are thwarting poachers by monitoring tigers across vast areas using solar-powered technology.

Conservationists are also teaching people to live alongside the big cats and to protect the environment they share.

WWF’s Tigers Alive appeal is being backed by a £500,000 donation from cat food brand Whiskas, from special pack sales between now and September.

As dawn broke one morning I joined WWF tiger specialist Diwakar Chapagain on an elephant-back patrol in the forest of Bardia National Park. We headed to one of the park’s 30 guard posts and met rangers and a unit of 15 soldiers about to go on anti-poaching patrols.

Criminals in rich smuggling rings stop at nothing to protect their trade. Rangers and police have been attacked and subjected to death threats, so army protection is vital.

Field officer Pradeep Khanal explained how a WWF-funded computer system collates sightings of tigers and their prey, as well as signs of poaching.

Rangers use GPS satellites, small drone aircraft with cameras to fly over large areas, and, in the corridors that act as crossing points between breeding grounds, camera-traps snap passing tigers.

I got to set one such trap and was delighted to learn two days later that it had spotted an adult male one night. Sadly, it was the nearest I got to seeing one of these beautiful creatures.

Diwakar said: “Every part of a tiger can be sold – eyeballs are eaten for health, tiger penis soup is seen as a cure for impotence, and teeth are worn as good luck charms.

“But it’s not just traditional medicine driving the trade. In places like China and Vietnam where economies are booming there are now many more wealthy people who want exotic products to reflect their status – like mounted heads on the wall or stuffed tiger cubs in the hallway.”

WWF are offering incentives – solar power and eco-fuel systems in homes – to persuade people to stop killing tigers and destroying the forest for fuel. And it is proving a huge success. They have set up 370 community-based anti-poaching patrols, training residents to scour forests for signs of poachers.

Bhadai finds two tiger traps

Bhadai is leading a patrol in the Khata Corridor where tigers, rhinos and elephants cross into India – an obvious target for poachers. As his group uncover another trap, he describes how tigers are killed with poisoned deer or dogs as bait – and motherless cubs left to starve.

As we move down to the river bank he spots fresh pug marks (paw prints) from a young female tiger – and is relieved that this one has escaped the traps nearby.

Yet dedicated Bhadai has every reason to hate the animals he protects. Nine years ago, the dad-of-three was attacked and almost killed by a tiger which ripped his face apart, tore out his left eye and mauled his leg and torso.

He takes off his treasured sunglasses – given to him by actor and wildlife campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio who visited recently – to reveal horrific scars. While out cutting grass with other villagers one afternoon Bhadai came face to face with the huge snarling tiger.

He said: “It made a terrifying roar and attacked me. It was biting my face and I was punching its nose. The others heard the roaring and my screams and ran away in fear.

“I thought I was dead. There was so much blood, though I don’t remember the pain because I had been fighting so hard.”

Somehow he managed to land a blow and the tiger fled. He says: “Yes, I was half blind, but I was just glad to be alive.”

He had reconstructive surgery in the capital Kathmandu before returning home and carrying on his patrols.

“I told my neighbours, ‘Don’t try to kill the cat that attacked me’. We need to learn to live together,” he said.

“But, when I first went back out on patrol, I was a little scared,” he admitted bashfully.

I flew back to Kathmandu, disappointed that I had not seen a tiger. But photographer Adrian Steirn stayed on for the next two days with an expert guide.

The efforts paid off and Adrian got a rare shot of a male tiger drinking at a river.

And thanks to WWF’s efforts – funded by your donations and Whiskas proceeds – it may not be such a rare sight in future.

Visit www.whiskas.co.uk/wwf to see how special Whiskas packs will help protect tigers, plus check out wwf.org.uk/.